Presence of Russian troops is an act of aggression and EU must react, says Ukraine - by Telegraph Staff
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President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine is pressing the EU for tough new sanctions against Russia, warning that Moscow's acts of aggression require a stronger response from the west
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European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso says the EU is ready to take "very strong and clear measures" against Russia over the Ukraine crisis.
Poroshenko Expects Progress Toward Ukraine Peaceby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Saturday he expected to see progress toward peace in the east of the country in the coming days. At a news conference in Brussels ahead of a European Union summit, he said in English: “We are waiting that in the very next days, starting from Monday, we can demonstrate the real progress in the peace negotiations. “Why? Because we are too close to the border where from it would be no return to the peace plan.” Poroshenko traveled to Brussels Saturday in hopes of persuading the EU to do more to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from supporting Ukraine's separatist rebels. Fighter jet downed Earlier Saturday, Ukrainian military officials said a fighter jet was shot down by a Russian missile during fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of the country. A Ukrainian military statement said the Su-25 was shot down Friday, and the pilot managed to eject safely. There was no indication of precisely where the incident took place. NATO has called on Russia to cease its "illegal military operations" in eastern Ukraine, which it says are aimed at destabilizing the country. The comments by NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Friday followed an emergency meeting in Brussels to discuss the worsening crisis. Rasmussen, referencing satellite images released by his organization Thursday, said it was clear that Russian troops and equipment have illegally crossed the border into eastern Ukraine. He said the troop movement earlier this week was not an isolated incident, but part of a pattern over many months to destabilize Ukraine as a sovereign nation.
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Poroshenko in Brussels seeks "decisive action" from EU on eastern Ukraine. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
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Newshour: Should Ukraine join NATO? by BBC World Service
Why Ukraine wants NATO seat; Secrets of ISIS laptop; Classical music too 'difficult'?
Download audio: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/worldservice/newshour/newshour_20140829-2200a.mp3
Download audio: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/worldservice/newshour/newshour_20140829-2200a.mp3
Latest news from Novoazovsk, Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces are defending the port city from what they say is a Russian invasion. NPR's Scott Simon talks to correspondent Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson from Novoazovsk.
Juergen Baetz and Jim Heintz, Associated Press 8:28 a.m. EDT August 30, 2014
Protesters burn a photo of Russia's President Vladimir Putin during a rally in support of Ukraine and against the Russian President in Tbilisi on August 29, 2014.(Photo: Vano Shlamov, AFP/Getty)
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders on Saturday were poised to impose new sanctions against Russia as Ukraine's president warned the conflict with Moscow threatens peace and stability for Europe as a whole.
Ukraine's Petro Poroshenko said a strong EU response is needed because his country is subject to "military aggression and terror."
"Thousand(s) of the foreign troops and hundreds of the foreign tanks are now on the territory of Ukraine," Poroshenko told reporters, speaking in English. "There is a very high risk not only for peace and stability for Ukraine but for the whole peace and stability of Europe."
EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said before a summit of the 28-nation EU's leaders in Brussels that "sanctions are not and end in themselves" but a means to dissuade Russia from further destabilizing Ukraine.
"Russia should not underestimate the European Union's will and resolve to stand by its principles and values," he told reporters, adding that the escalation seen over the past week cannot go unpunished.
"The opening of new fronts and the use of Russian regular forces (on Ukrainian soil) is not acceptable and represents a grave transgression," Barroso added.
NATO estimates that at least 1,000 Russian soldiers are in Ukraine even though Russia denies any military involvement in the fighting that has so far claimed 2,600 lives, according to U.N. figures.
Conceding ground in the face of a reinvigorated rebel offensive, Ukraine said Saturday that it was abandoning a city where its forces have been surrounded by rebels for days. It was also pulling back from another it had claimed to have taken control of two weeks earlier.
The statements by Col. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the national security council, indicate that Ukrainian forces are facing increasingly strong resistance from Russian-backed separatist rebels just weeks after racking up significant gains and forcing rebels out of much of the territory they had held.
Poroshenko, who was meeting with EU leaders later Saturday, said Ukraine would welcome an EU decision to help with military equipment and further intelligence-sharing.
Barroso provided no specifics about which sanctions the heads of state and government might adopt to inflict more economic pain to nudge Russia toward a political solution. "No one's interest is served by new wars on our continent," Barroso said.
The EU leaders were likely make a political decision Saturday, with the exact targets of sanctions to be divulged by the EU executive in the coming days.
The United States and the EU have so far imposed sanctions against dozens of Russian officials, several companies and the country's financial industry. Moscow has retaliated by banning food imports.
New EU sanctions have to be agreed unanimously — a requirement that has in the past blocked or softened decisions since some nations fear the economic fallout. Russia is the EU's third-largest trading partner and one of its biggest oil and gas suppliers.
Barroso said that the EU — a bloc encompassing half a billion people and stretching from Lisbon to the border with Ukraine — stands ready to grant Kiev further financial assistance if needed. The bloc will also organize a donors' conference to help rebuild the country's east at the end of the year, he added.
On the ground, fighting continued.
Ukrainian forces had been surrounded by rebels in the town of Ilovaysk, avout 20 kilometers (15 miles) east of the largest rebel-held city of Donetsk for days.
"We are surrendering this city," Ukraine's Lysenko told reporters. "Our task now is to evacuate our military with the least possible losses in order to regroup."
Lysenko said that regular units of the military had been ordered to retreat from Novosvitlivka and Khryashchuvate, two towns on the main road between the Russian border and Luhansk, the second-largest rebel-held city. Ukraine had claimed control of Novosvitlivka earlier in August.
Separately, Ukrainian forces said one of their Su-25 fighter jets was shot down Friday over eastern Ukraine by a missile from a Russian missile launcher. The pilot ejected and was uninjured, the military said in a brief statement.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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When a state sends more than a thousand troops with mobile artillery and heavy equipment into a neighboring state and takes control of territory, that’s an invasion, right?
Not according to NATO, which reported the Russian military movements in Ukraine this past week but depicted them only as increased Russian “interference.” And not according to President Obama, who saw Russia being only “a little more overt” in its support of secessionists in southeastern Ukraine. And certainly not according to President Vladimir V. Putin, whose lieutenants simply denied everything and labeled the evidence a Western “canard.”
Spin, of course, is an elemental political tool, and for the West to call the invasion an invasion would require a response that neither Washington nor other Western capitals nor NATO are prepared for. But an invasion it is, and the fundamental challenge to the liberal world order that it poses will be high on NATO’s agenda when its leaders gather in Wales this week.
As for Mr. Putin, the lie is an honored Soviet propaganda tool he has used since the start of the Russian campaign against Ukraine. The Russian leader is aware that acknowledging an invasion would not only sharply elevate the level of tension with the West, but would carry considerable domestic repercussions. Polls show that only 5 percent of Russians would support sending their troops into Ukraine.
When Russia acknowledged that Ukraine had captured some Russian soldiers — Moscow said they accidentally wandered across the border — mothers and girlfriends of the prisoners immediately and loudly began demanding an explanation.
The implausibly deniable invasion of Ukraine, to play on an old C.I.A. term, is not the only unconventional war facing the United States and NATO. There is also the question of what to do aboutISIS, the brutal jihadist outfit marauding through Iraq and Syria.
In brief comments on Ukraine and the Middle East on Thursday, President Obama said the United States had not yet formulated a strategy for dealing with ISIS inside Syria, but he confirmed he had asked Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel for options. But however reluctant he and the American public were to get militarily involved abroad, it was clear that neither the United States nor NATO could ignore the two threats.
As NATO grapples with armed conflicts, international health authorities will be fighting their own unconventional war against the Ebola virus, which spread to a fifth West African country, Senegal, and, according to the World Health Organization, could eventually infect 20,000 people.
In this struggle, too, finding a strategy was not always easy. Liberia’s misguided attempt to quarantine the squalid West Point neighborhood of the capital of Monrovia, the African city hit hardest by Ebola, created a reaction arguably as dangerous as the infection, with residents crowding together and battling surrounding soldiers and the police.
The Convenient Lie
The crisis in Ukraine has been underway now for half a year, and the Russian involvement, from the outright annexation of Crimea in March to the men, arms and convoys repeatedly reported spotted in the fighting in the southeastern industrial belt, has been obvious. But something seemed to change in the past week, when Mr. Putin amiably shook hands with President Petro O. Poroshenko on Tuesday, just two days before NATO reported that more than 1,000 Russian soldiers with artillery and other heavy weaponry were on the march inside Ukraine, and as rebels poised themselves for a new thrust along the Sea of Azov.
Until now, Europe, and to a lesser degree the United States, had publicly sustained the myth that Russia was intent only on destabilizing Ukraine to deter it from shifting westward politically, rather than to gain control over its eastern provinces, and that Mr. Putin could be brought to the negotiating table through sanctions and censure. But the Russia-backed rebel drive toward the port of Mariupol could also open a land route from Russia to Crimea, underpinning Russian control of a broad section of Ukrainian territory that Mr. Putin has provocatively called by its old czarist name, “Novorossiya,” or “New Russia.”
The West has been reluctant to acknowledge that Mr. Putin may be seeking actual control over the Donbass region, in part because breaking with Russia would endanger a major European energy source and lucrative trade deals, including the French sale of two Mistral-class assault ships to Moscow. More broadly, defining Russia as an enemy would mean an end to the post-Cold War world order based on the international rule of law — an order in which a democratizing Russia was to be a partner in integrating emerging economies, fighting terrorism and reining in rogue states.
Mr. Putin has craftily assisted Europe in its illusions by consistently denying any role in the Ukrainian fighting, regularly referring to the Europeans as “our partners,” pinning the blame for the crisis on American “unilateralism,” and posing as a mediator between Kiev and the pro-Russian militias. His actions, however, reflect a primitive and aggressive brand of geopolitics that was not supposed to have survived the Cold War.
In his comments on Thursday, Mr. Obama seemed intent first of all on restraining expectations of what the United States might do about either Ukraine or ISIS. Russia’s actions, he said, were “not really a shift,” and he was vague about tightening sanctions.
Yet the pressure for intervening more directly in Ukraine by supplying the government in Kiev with weapons and intelligence is bound to grow, both within the Obama administration and among Eastern European states.
The Islamic State
That challenge extends to Iraq and Syria, where the latest iteration of fanatical Islam, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, has established a virtual state straddling the two countries through military prowess and ruthless cruelty.
While Washington has agreed to airstrikes against ISIS inside Iraq to protect threatened minorities and to give the Baghdad government time to marshal its badly battered and fractured forces, President Obama emphasized on Thursday that no decision had been made yet on dealing with ISIS inside Syria.
But there was a growing awareness that ISIS could not be curbed so long as it could flee to bases in Syria. Officials were said to be debating whether to use drones or fighter jets, and whether to target ISIS forces or specific leaders.
Mr. Obama did not address the actual choices before him. His message was not the action the United States or its allies might take, but rather the inadmissibility of any mission creep.
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30 August 2014 Last updated at 01:10 ET By Andy McFarlane BBC News Continue reading the main story
Warnings from government about the terror threat to the UK from extremists make the front pages of most national newspapers. The i's headline quotes Prime Minister David Cameron saying that Islamic State is likely to attack the UK and that the threat will last "for decades".
Noting that the UK terror threat level has been raised from "substantial" to "severe", the Daily Mirror says it will prompt police to "flood the streets". The paper quotes Home Secretary Theresa May saying that an attack is now "highly likely".
Mr Cameron described the danger as the "greatest and deepest" terror threat in the country's history, reports the Daily Telegraph. The paper says he has pledged emergency measures to tackle extremists and has not ruled out military action to confront the problem.
The Daily Express quotes the PM saying that suspected jihadists will be stripped of their passports if they are caught returning from conflict zones in Iraq and Syria, where the Islamic State group has gained territory amid reports it's persecuting religious minorities.
The Independent describes a "climate of fear" after security sources warned that jihadists are planning terror operations in the UK. More than 9,000 police officers will man a "ring of steel" around the location for the forthcoming Nato summit near Newport.
Visible patrols will be stepped up, while security around key buildings and national infrastructure will be increased, reports the Times. The paper quotes Michael Green, from the British Council of Shopping Centres, saying that store owners and retail centres have been advised of tightened measures.
Mr Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg will "embark on intensive negotiations" this weekend to try to agree measures to tackle terror suspects, according to the Guardian. The PM said the country needed to strengthen "gaps in our armoury", the paper adds.
The Sun leads on the case of a family who went "on the run" with their terminally ill son, five, after discharging him from hospital. Police across Europe are hunting Ashya King, who has a brain tumour and was last seen with his parents on a ferry to France. Doctors fear a battery operating his tube-feeding system has expired.
Shoppers are "panic-buying powerful vacuum cleaners" ahead of an EU ban on machines with a wattage higher than 1,600, according to the Daily Mail. Stores are reporting that demand has soared by nearly 50%, the paper says.
Health is the focus of the FT Weekend, which reports that Labour leader Ed Miliband is to put the NHS at the heart of his party's election campaign. He is considering an earmarked health tax, or exempting health services from deficit reduction, to prove he can deliver a better service, the paper says.
The future of Cheryl Fernandez-Versini - formerly Cole - as an X Factor judge is under question, according to the Daily Star which claims there have been a series of "behind-the-scenes clashes". It claims that show boss Simon Cowell has dubbed her "Princess bossy boots".
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Ah, the X Factor's back
'Cold War' chill
Power vacuum
Making people click
Warnings from government about the terror threat to the UK from extremists make the front pages of most national newspapers. The i's headline quotes Prime Minister David Cameron saying that Islamic State is likely to attack the UK and that the threat will last "for decades".Noting that the UK terror threat level has been raised from "substantial" to "severe", the Daily Mirror says it will prompt police to "flood the streets". The paper quotes Home Secretary Theresa May saying that an attack is now "highly likely".Mr Cameron described the danger as the "greatest and deepest" terror threat in the country's history, reports the Daily Telegraph. The paper says he has pledged emergency measures to tackle extremists and has not ruled out military action to confront the problem.The Daily Express quotes the PM saying that suspected jihadists will be stripped of their passports if they are caught returning from conflict zones in Iraq and Syria, where the Islamic State group has gained territory amid reports it's persecuting religious minorities.The Independent describes a "climate of fear" after security sources warned that jihadists are planning terror operations in the UK. More than 9,000 police officers will man a "ring of steel" around the location for the forthcoming Nato summit near Newport.Visible patrols will be stepped up, while security around key buildings and national infrastructure will be increased, reports the Times. The paper quotes Michael Green, from the British Council of Shopping Centres, saying that store owners and retail centres have been advised of tightened measures.Mr Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg will "embark on intensive negotiations" this weekend to try to agree measures to tackle terror suspects, according to the Guardian. The PM said the country needed to strengthen "gaps in our armoury", the paper adds.The Sun leads on the case of a family who went "on the run" with their terminally ill son, five, after discharging him from hospital. Police across Europe are hunting Ashya King, who has a brain tumour and was last seen with his parents on a ferry to France. Doctors fear a battery operating his tube-feeding system has expired.Shoppers are "panic-buying powerful vacuum cleaners" ahead of an EU ban on machines with a wattage higher than 1,600, according to the Daily Mail. Stores are reporting that demand has soared by nearly 50%, the paper says.Health is the focus of the FT Weekend, which reports that Labour leader Ed Miliband is to put the NHS at the heart of his party's election campaign. He is considering an earmarked health tax, or exempting health services from deficit reduction, to prove he can deliver a better service, the paper says.The future of Cheryl Fernandez-Versini - formerly Cole - as an X Factor judge is under question, according to the Daily Star which claims there have been a series of "behind-the-scenes clashes". It claims that show boss Simon Cowell has dubbed her "Princess bossy boots".
David Cameron's warning about the danger to the UK from Islamic State (IS) militants - coupled with the raising of the country's terror threat level to "severe" - gives the papers plenty to think about.
The Independent says it all adds up to a "climate of fear", as security sources warn jihadists are planning atrocities on British soil. The Daily Telegraph quotes the PM's comment that the situation presents the "greatest terror threat" in UK history.
As the Daily Star puts it: "It's coming to Britain right now." However, while ministers say an attack is "highly likely", they insist they are not currently aware of any specific threat, reports the Daily Express.
And while there is little detail of what the threat might involve, the Times reports that documents found on a laptop belonging to an Islamic State militant indicate the group is trying to get hold of biological weapons and to develop bubonic plague. Most papers agree that the threat is greatest from those returning from fighting in Syria and Iraq.
The Daily Mail explains how British militants travel to the conflict zone using a "sophisticated 'dead letter box' system" on the internet, saying: "Terrorist handlers are employing 'silent' email addresses that never actually send messages, but instead contain instructions in the 'drafts' folder. Would-be fighters are then moved from Europe undetected across the Turkish border to training camps in Syria." Meanwhile, Labour leader Ed Miliband uses an article in the Independent to call for a "multilateral alliance" to cut off IS funding and recruitment, and to organise political, diplomatic and humanitarian action.
In the Daily Mirror, security writer Neil Doyle spells out how people might notice the effects of the heightened security alert. "An increased presence of plain clothes police officers is to be expected on public transport... More armed patrols are also likely to be stationed around military bases and key infrastructure targets, such as power stations and oil and gas facilities." Airports security could see increased spot checks and even a reintroduction of a ban on liquids in hand baggage, he adds.
Most papers focus on how the government can best address the threat. Alan Travis writes in the Guardian that Mr Cameron faces a "huge task" to secure the support of both Home Secretary Theresa May and his Lib Dem coalition partners for stricter security measures, while any hopes of stripping people of their passports may be dashed: "As the government's lawyers have undoubtedly made clear, if you start depriving people of their passports, you breach international laws by making your own citizens stateless."
Mr Clegg is under "intense pressure" to end his opposition to new terror laws, says the Daily Mail, quoting Lib Dem sources insisting he had not ruled out "beefing up" powers but that he would not allow civil liberties to be "trampled on".
The Sun argues: "Nothing should be off the table when the prime minister comes to the Commons on Monday with proposals to stop IS terrorists who want to murder on our shores." The Mirror, though, sounds a note of caution: "In countering the potential threat of these 'militarised men'... the prime minister must avoid a kneejerk reaction which will destroy or erode our ancient freedoms."
ITV talent show X Factor's return makes headlines, with the Daily Star's front page speculating that returning judge Cheryl Fernandez-Versini - formerly Cole - could be facing the axe already. The paper reckons the show's boss Simon Cowell is fed up with her trying to pinch his luxury dressing room. "The music mogul moans that the former Girls Aloud star is becoming 'a princess' and 'Miss Bossy Boots'," it says.
"Hankies at the ready..." suggests the Express, pointing out that both Fernandez-Versini and fellow judge Mel B were "moved to tears" by performances in the first episode of the new series, to be screened on Saturday evening. "No tears from Simon Cowell, though," it adds. "Instead the 54-year-old loses his temper, smashing someone's guitar then refusing to pay for the damage."
As usual, there is an element of controversy as the new series gets under way. The Guardian reports that Cowell has defended a decision to lower the age limit to 14 in an attempt to draw in fresh talent, reports the Guardian. Even show host Dermot O'Leary has hit out at the move, reports the Mirror.
But according to the Sun, he's lucky to be fronting the programme again after a plane he was on with Xtra Factor presenter Sarah-Jane Crawford and guest judge Tulisa "plunged over the Bermuda Triangle". They had been returning from judge Louis Walsh's house on the island.
Meanwhile, Victoria Aitken - daughter of shamed former cabinet minister Jonathan - writes in the Daily Mail about how she was targeted by the show's producers and "fast-tracked" through the audition process, despite never having filled in an application form. She claims they wanted her to reveal her "sob story", writing: "From what I've seen, if someone's got a really ordinary back story - two loving parents, a beautiful sister and a dog - and they have the most amazing voice, the producers aren't interested. If they have a horror story but a voice like nails on a blackboard, it seems to be: 'Oh yes, fabulous. Come on the show.'"
In Mariupol, eastern Ukraine, the Telegraph's Roland Oliphant hears from an army officer whose soldiers are "digging in" to face a force described by many as "rebels" just 20 miles away. "They're different to the fighters in Donetsk. We know what they're like, we've fought them before," he says. "These guys are different. Their kit, their uniforms, everything - they're Russian armed forces."
"Despite official denials that it is fighting in Ukraine, ordinary Russians are starting to ask whether their country is indeed at war," says the Guardian. "One mother, Olga Pochtoyeva, says when she approached officials with photos from a social media site that appeared to show her son had been taken prisoner in Ukraine, her claims were dismissed as 'provocations'."
The Financial Times's editorial says Western governments have long been wondering whether Mr Putin would order an assault on eastern Ukraine. "That such an attack is under way is no longer in doubt," it says. "This is a dangerous escalation of the crisis - and one that demands a response from the West."
Europe and the US had gone along with Mr Putin's "chicanery" in claiming that Russian forces weren't in Ukraine for a reason, the Guardian says. "If the Russians had never been in Ukraine, they might, in other words, cease to be there without an embarrassing fuss. This week we passed the point where such a tactic was defensible or could be deemed to be useful."
The Times's editorial column calls for robust action: "The first step must be to do everything short of sending troops to help Ukraine to close and seal its border with Russia. The West can and should provide Ukraine with armoured vehicles, night vision equipment, spy drones and cyberwarfare experts." It also says sanctions against Moscow must be tightened and that Europe must work out a plan to ensure Ukraine has access to fuel when Russia turns off its gas supply in the winter.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian PM's comments that he would seek Nato's protection against Russian aggression - and Russian President Vladimir Putin's response that his country "is one of the world's leading nuclear powers. It's best not to mess with us," troubles the Express. It describes the language as "chilling" and not heard since the Cold War days, explaining that Moscow would view any move by Kiev to join Nato as "provocative because an attack on one Nato member is seen as an attack on them all".
Tom Parfitt writes in the Telegraph that the comments were made during Mr Putin's "yearly trip to a patriotic youth camp" where it has become tradition for him to grab a microphone, casually answer questions from youngster and then say "something flinty sharp - a comment that shoots around the world".
According to the Daily Mail, a European Union ban on vacuum cleaners with a power rating above 1,600 watts - which is due to come into force next week - has led to a "stampede" among shoppers who are desperate to snap up more powerful models. "The buying frenzy looks set to intensify today and tomorrow, before the official ban on importing or manufacturing the machines takes effect on Monday," the paper says. It highlights some of the top-rated models which have sold out at major retailers.
Meanwhile, the Sun compiles a "hit-list" of electrical goods it says could be next to fall foul of Brussels' energy-efficiency regulations. Kettles, toasters and hairdryers could soon be powered down, it says, adding that lawnmowers, smartphones, car air conditioning and power tools are all being looked at. "Even fish tanks will have less coloured lights and fewer bubbles from next year," it notes.
Mail: 'They ran away in desperation': Jehovah's Witness couple who snatched their seriously ill son from hospital 'took him abroad to find brain tumour treatment after doctors told them nothing could be done'
Telegraph: George Galloway attacked in the street as he poses for pictures
Guardian: The untold story of how a culture of shame perpetuates abuse. 'I know, I was a victim'
Times: My name is Earl [Spencer]
Financial Times: Nato states create new multilateral force
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"He believes that Novorossiya should exist," Morozov told AFP, adding that Moscow would for the next few months work on defining the borders of the planned territory.
19.16 Lilia Shevtsova, a Russian political scientist with a forensic insight into the Kremlin, says Mr Putin is neither bellicose nor irrational, despite sending troops into a neighbouring country, writes The Telegraph's Tom Parfitt in Moscow.
Instead, having turned containment of the West in Ukraine into a means of mobilising Russians around their leader, he knows a cold fact: personal disaster looms in case of defeat. “What we have in Ukraine is a battle by a declining but ever more desperately aggressive authoritarianism against a hostile civilisation,” argues Ms Shevtsova.
“Retreat,” she wrote this week, “would be tantamount to suicide.”
19.04 For quick look at key aspects of Russia's creeping infiltration in Ukraine, read this piece by The Telegraph's Damien McElroy and here's an extract:
With a painful history as a Kremlin satellite and a Russian-speaking minority of its own, Lithuania can lay claim to a special hearing on how to handle cross-border aggression from Russia.
So when Raimonda Murmokaitė, the Baltic state's representative at the UN, declared that the West had been as passive as the "proverbial frog" that does not know to jump out of a can of boiling water, diplomats at the special session of the Security Council had every reason to squirm in their seats.
In fact under President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB operative, Russia has honed a strategy for cross-border invasions that succeed by stealth.
After earlier excursions in Georgia, it has turned to a second ex-Soviet state. The Kremlin has steadily built up its presence in eastern Ukraine while using propaganda, misinformation and auxilliaries activities to create confusion about its activities on the ground.
Here are some of the key aspects of Russia's creeping infiltration in Ukraine:
Russia already has a strong presence in eastern Ukraine that allows it to resist Kiev's alliance with Western Europe and the Kremlin seized the initiative in Ukraine while the West has resorted to reactive sanctions.
18.42 The plane carrying Russia's defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, changed its status back to civilian and was permitted to fly over Poland, Poland's Ministry of Defence said.
(Vladimir Putin and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, left, review the Russian fleet in Sevastopol)
"The flight has now been submitted to the authorities as civilian," said Piotr Walatek, spokesman for the ministry's Armed Forces Operations Command.
"Civilian flights are taking place on a regular basis and it now has the permission to enter Poland's airspace."
Poland's state air navigation services agency PAZP earlier declined permission because the plane had changed its status to military from civil for unknown reasons.
18.39 Catherine Ashton's spokesman, Michael Mann, tweeted earlier: "#EU foreign ministers conclude talks on southern Neighbourhood; move on to eastern Neighbourhood #Ukraine #Gymnich #EUCO" and the following
18.22 Reuters is reporting that Poland's refusal to allow a plane carrying Russia's defence minister to pass through its airspace on Friday was a flagrant breach of international norms of behaviour, Interfax news agency quoted a senior Russian official as saying.
"Such actions cannot be described as anything other than a crude violation of the norms and ethics of inter-state conduct," it quoted First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov as saying.
18.13 The Netherlands has assigned a prosecutor to work in Kiev on the criminal investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, Associated Press reports.
Wim de Bruin, a spokesman, said with "dozens" of investigators working on the case in multiple countries, it was important to have a prosecutor in the country where the crash occurred to coordinate the probe.
Armed pro-Russian separatist stands on part of the wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane after it crashed near the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region
18.03 There is more information available about why Poland did not allow the Russian plane to fly through its airspace.
Poland's state air navigation services agency PAZP took the decision because the plane had changed its status to military from civil for unknown reasons, spokesman Pawel Paluch said, Reuters reports.
The plane had received a diplomatic permit for the return flight over Poland as a civil flight of the Russian airline Aeroflot, he said.
"Of course we will grant a permit for the return flight over Poland when the plane changes back its flight plan to non-military," he added.
17.58 When asked how the US interpreted Mr Putin's nuclear comments, a White House spokesman said: "When they're denying photographic evidence of Russian military action in Ukraine it's pretty hard to tell what they're thinking," Raf Sanchez writes.
17.55 José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, had a "frank" telephone call with Mr Putin. In a statement, he expressed "his deep concern with the current events and the situation on the ground in Ukraine".
The statement said: "These are in complete contradiction with the efforts made by the European Union to bring about diplomatic and pragmatic solutions to issues such as the implementation of the AA/DCFTA (Association Agreement/Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement) and energy relations between Russia and Ukraine."
Mr Barroso condemned the evidence of "significant incursions" into Ukraine and the Russian military units on Ukrainian soil.
(H/T to Bruno Waterfield for the statement)
17.29 The Financial Times team have produced this video analysing the current crisis and what it means. It is definitely worth watching.
17.26 More from Josh Earnest in the US.
The White House suggested that Russia could face further sanctions, saying Mr Putin's actions put his country "at risk of facing additional economic costs that can be imposed by the US in concert with our allies", Raf Sanchez writes.
A spokesman for Mr Obama continued to refuse to use the word "invasion" to describe the Russian military incursion into Ukraine.
17.23 Meanwhile, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said France had evidence of "unacceptable" intervention by Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.
Mr Fabius, speaking to French TV station France 24, also said EU sanctions against Russia would probably be reinforced if Russia does not quickly change its behaviour.
"When one country sends military forces into another country without the agreement and against the will of another country, that is called an intervention and is clearly unacceptable," he said.
17.22 The Telegraph's Raf Sanchez in Washington DC has tweeted the following:
17.20 Mr Earnest adds: "Russia's denials are without any credibility and we've been pretty candid about that."
17.19 The White House press secretary said the evidence presented by Nato is compelling and that Russia is further destabilising the situation in Ukraine.
"They're not doing that [destablising Ukraine] right now," he adds.
17.18 Josh Earnest from the White House has said Russia is acting in ways the world cannot tolerate and that does put Russia at risk.
17.11 According to Reuters, Poland's air navigation authority say it denied the flyover because the plane changed status "for unknown reasons" from civil to military.
17.06 The IMF's board has signed off on a $1.4 billion disbursement to Ukraine under its loan program, confirming Kiev was on track so far with the conditions of the bailout.
The International Monetary Fund in late April approved a $17 billion loan program for the former Soviet bloc country to shore up its depleted foreign currency reserves and support the state budget.
But it has also warned the programme faces risks, as Ukraine continues to fight a pro-Russian separatist rebellion in the east.
16.44 Poland refused permission for a plane carrying Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu to fly through its airspace on Friday while attempting to return from a visit to Slovakia, Russia's RIA news agency said.
RIA said the minister's plane turned around and landed back in the Slovak capital Bratislava, Reuterswrote.
A spokesman for the Polish state air navigation agency said: "It is too early to comment, we are checking all the circumstances that led to this occurrence."
The reason for the reported incident was unclear. Poland has been one of the countries most critical of Russia's actions in the Ukraine crisis, accusing it of aggression against its neighbour.
A Polish foreign ministry spokesman said he had no knowledge of the incident, and a Russian defence ministry spokesman declined to comment.
RIA said its correspondent aboard the Tu-154 plane had been told by a crew member that the pilots had received a message that Poland was not allowing the flight to use its airspace, after which the plane made a sharp turn and flew back.
16.41 More coming from Reuters and Mr Putin from the pro-Kremlin youth camp.
Mr Putin said eastern Ukraine did not agree with Yanukovich's removal and was now subjected to "crude military force" from government planes, tanks and artillery.
"If those are contemporary European values, then I'm simply disappointed in the highest degree," he said.
16.30 Ukraine wants supplies of weapons but does not expect NATO to send soldiers to help it fight Russian troops in its eastern provinces, Kiev's ambassador to NATO said on Friday.
Asked if any NATO member was currently supplying Ukraine with arms, Ihor Dolhov told reporters after an emergency meeting with NATO ambassadors: "No, unfortunately not."
Mr Dolhov said Ukraine was also not receiving any state-of-the-art weapons, despite Russian suggestions to the contrary. "No, not yet," he told reporters.
16.12 Reuters is reporting on Mr Putin's emotive words now.
Russia's armed forces, backed by its nuclear arsenal, were ready to meet any aggression, Mr Putin, declaring at a pro-Kremlin youth camp that foreign states should understand: "It's best not to mess with us."
Mr Putin told the assembly, on the banks of a lake near Moscow, the Russian takeover of Crimea in March was essential to save a largely Russian-speaking population from Ukrainian government violence. He said continued fighting in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists launched an uprising in April, was the result of a refusal by Kiev to negotiate.
Ukraine, and Western governments, accuse Russia of sending troops and armour to back the separatists in a conflict that has already killed over 2,000 people. Russia denies the charge.
"Russia is far from being involved in any large-scale conflicts," he said at the camp on the banks of Lake Seliger. "We don't want that and don't plan on it. But naturally, we should always be ready to repel any aggression towards Russia.
"Russia's partners...should understand it's best not to mess with us," said Putin, dressed casually in a grey sweater and light blue jeans.
"Thank God, I think no one is thinking of unleashing a large-scale conflict with Russia. I want to remind you that Russia is one of the leading nuclear powers."
15.52
15.50 Several European Union foreign ministers have accused Russia of invading eastern Ukraine and said Moscow should be punished with more sanctions, AP reports.
The meeting of the 28-nation bloc's top diplomats in Milan came one day after NATO said Moscow has slipped at least 1,000 Russian soldiers and much heavy weaponry into Ukraine.
"We have to be aware of what we are facing: We are now in the midst of the second Russian invasion of Ukraine within a year," said Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt, referring to Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March.
"We see regular Russian army units operating offensively on the Ukrainian territory against the Ukrainian army," Mr Bildt said. "We must call a spade a spade."
All options except military action will be considered to punish Russia for pursuing "the wrong path," said Luxembourg's foreign minister Jean Asselborn.
"The European Union should be ready to move forward with possible new measures against Russia because the situation is still getting worse," said Estonian foreign minister Urmas Paet.
No foreign minister elaborated on what additional sanctions are being considered.
15.45 Ukraine's energy minister has said Kiev is "disappointed by the lack of a constructive approach" from Russia on gas talks
15.14 You might not have noticed, but Russia has invaded Ukraine, writes David Blair. Here's an extract from his piece recommended for you all to read.
Let's be blunt: to all intents and purposes, Russia has now invaded Ukraine. The Nato assessment is that over 1,000 Russian regular troops are now inside eastern Ukraine, supported by main battle tanks and self-propelled heavy artillery.
The Russian force has invaded a coastal area of eastern Ukraine along the Sea of Azov. The immediate goal is obviously to relieve the pressure on the rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk by drawing Ukrainian forces away from them. In the longer term, the Russian tanks could advance all the way to Crimea, thereby linking this territory (which Putin annexed back in March) with the mother country.
So behold the spectacle of the world's biggest country invading its largest European neighbour. The big question is: why is there not more fuss? This is certainly the most critical European crisis since the end of the Cold War – and one of the gravest since 1945.
15.01 Earlier it was reported 12 McDonald's outlets were temporarily closed in Moscow on health grounds and authorities were conducting 100 inspections, according to the fast food chain itself.
This month Russia has cracked down on McDonald's, closing three other branches of the hugely popular burger chain over alleged hygiene violations in a move widely seen as a retaliation against Western sanctions over Ukraine, AFP reports.
14.49 Ukraine requires military assistance from NATO but does not expect it to send troops to fight pro-Russian separatists, the Ukrainian ambassador to the alliance said.
"What we need is more assistance, including military. It is clear that NATO cannot support Ukraine with troops and we do not expect member states to do so," said Ihor Dolhov, head of the Ukrainian delegation to NATO.
"We do not consider such an option for the time being. We can protect ourselves but we need assistance to stop aggression to call President (Vladimir) Putin to peace," Mr Dolhov said following an emergency NATO meeting on the crisis in eastern Ukraine.
Up to this point NATO member states have "unfortunately" not provided any weapons to Ukraine, he said, AFP reports.
Mr Dolhov said he hoped for "practical results" from a NATO summit due to take place in Wales on September 4 and 5.
14.46 Geoffrey Pyatt, US ambassador to Ukraine, has tweeted the following on the need for an international response to the crisis.
14.43 Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said the sanctions against Russia "have not worked" in changing Moscow's behaviour in eastern Ukraine and that additional measures must be considered by the European Union.
Mr Rutte told journalists after a weekly Cabinet meeting that Moscow's presence in Ukraine is "extremely concerning and violates international law".
"We do not accept it and additional sanctions should not be ruled out," he said.
Responding to calls by Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk for his country to join Nato, Mr Rutte said "joining NATO would not contribute to a solution".
14.35 Germany warned the Ukraine crisis was spiralling "out of control", as European Union foreign ministers grappled with how to respond to what some termed a Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine.
"The situation in Ukraine is entering a new dimension," German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters on the sidelines of talks with his EU counterparts in Milan, AFP reports.
"All our hopes of desescalation have been disappointed and the situation is showing signs that it is now out of control."
14.25 Military attaches examine a Russian-made drone displayed in Kiev today.
Russian weapons and artillery, seized by Ukrainian forces from pro-Russian separatists following clashes in the east of the country, were displayed for inspection by foreign military attaches accredited in Ukraine.
14.23 Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski on Friday described the deadly fighting in neighbouring Ukraine as a "war", as the West accused Moscow of direct involvement in the escalating conflict.
"If it looks like a war, sounds like a war and kills like a war, it is a war," Sikorski wrote on Twitter in response to a tweet from his Swedish counterpart that read:
"This is the second Russian invasion of Ukraine within a year".
13.56 BREAKING: Ukraine conflict 'is a war', Polish foreign minister says
13.50 BREAKING: Dutch PM says Ukraine joining Nato would not contribute to solving the current crisis, Reuters reports
13.38 Mr Putin added he hoped Russia would not lose the right to hold the 2018 World Cup soccer tournament, following Western calls to strip Russia of the contest.
Asked whether there were any risks Russia could lose its right to hold the tournement due to the "complicated political situation", Mr Putin said: "I hope not. FIFA has already said soccer and sport are outside politics and I think that is the right approach."
13.37 BREAKING Mr Putin says Russia has no desire to get involved in large-scale conflicts, but should be able to respond to any threat.
"Russia is far from being involved in any large-scale conflicts. We don't want that and don't plan on it. But naturally, we should always be ready to repel any aggression towards Russia.
13.32 According to Sergei Lavrov, Ukraine has given its "agreement in principle" to sending a second humanitarian convoy into conflict-torn eastern Ukraine.
"The day before yesterday we received a note in response from the Ukrainian foreign ministry expressing agreement in principle with the proposal to send Russian humanitarian aid to the east," the foreign minister told a news conference in Moscow.
He said representatives of Ukrainian authorities, the rebels, Russia and the OSCE should agree on the details of sending in the convoy "in the next few days".
13.17 Romania's president Traian Basescu on Friday said the European Union and NATO must supply weapons to Ukraine to help it fight Russian-backed insurgents, AFP reports.
"At tomorrow's EU summit I will plead in favour of backing Ukraine with weapons to help it oppose the Russian aggression," Basescu told Romanian diplomats gathered in Bucharest for their annual meeting.
EU and NATO states must "go beyond declarations of good intent", he stressed.
13.14 Sweden's foreign minister, Carl Bildt, has some strong words for Russia:
13.08 The Telegraph's Roland Oliphant is now in Mariupol where he shared this:
13.06 AFP reports that the forces of the Russian-led CSTO military alliance are ready if needed for a peacekeeping operation, a senior official said Friday, as pro-Kremlin fighters were beating back Kiev's troops in eastern Ukraine.
Troops from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation "are ready to participate in peacekeeping operations no matter how difficult," its chief Nikolai Bordyuzha was quoted as saying by RIA-Novosti news agency.
He said CSTO leaders could decide to deploy peacekeepers "on the territory of a member state or beyond."
In addition to Russia the CSTO includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kirgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Russia has previously intervened in conflicts in the region calling its troops peacekeepers, including in Moldova and Georgia.
12.53 Armed Ukrainian servicemen comb the area after being shot at by pro-Russian militants at their check-point near the small city of Dzerzhynsk, in the Donetsk region, on August 28, 2014
A child holds a Ukrainian flag during a rally in the center of the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, in the Donetsk region, on August 28, 2014
12.46 Russia's actions inside Ukraine "add up to a military intervention," German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said, ahead of an EU summit that will consider fresh sanctions against Moscow.
"Russia is strongly urged to refrain from all actions that mean a further escalation," said the spokesman, Steffen Seibert, pointing to a growing number of sightings of Russian fighters and arms inside Ukraine.
"Regarding the reports of repeated violations of the Ukrainian border, which add up to a military intervention, we expect clarification from Russia," he said. "This is a very serious and unjustifiable development."
Mr Seibert reiterated Merkel's comments Thursday that Berlin wants "a diplomatic solution" to the crisis but that EU leaders at a Brussels summit Saturday must consider stepped-up sanctions against Russia.
"If there is an escalation, if Russia fails to meet its responsibility - to stabilise the situation, ... to use its influence with the separatists, to close the border to Russian military equipment and Russian fighters - then Europe will again have to respond," he told a press conference.
"And that is why the European Council will have to address possible measures."
12.34 Mr Putin also said Kiev must sit down for negotiations with representatives of separatist eastern Ukrainian regions in order to achieve peace, Reuters reports.
"It is necessary to force the Ukrainian authorities to substantively begin these talks -- not on technical issues ... the talks must be substantive."
He also compared Kiev's operation in eastern Ukraine where government forces are fighting pro-Russian separatists around the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk is reminiscent of the World War Two Nazi siege of Leningrad.
"Small villages and large cities surrounded by the Ukrainian army which is directly hitting residential areas with the aim of destroying the infrastructure... It sadly reminds me the events of the Second World War, when German fascist... occupants surrounded our cities."
12.30 In the last 24 hours, 10 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 30 wounded in fighting with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours, Kiev's security and defence council said on Friday.
It comes after the UN said a total of 2,593 people died in eastern Ukraine since mid-April.
12.29 Mr Putin said Moscow had to strengthen its position, economically and militarily, in the resource rich Arctic region, where other countries are vying for influence, Reuters reports.
"Our interests are concentrated in the Arctic. And of course we should pay more attention to issues of development of the Arctic and the strengthening of our position (there)," Putin told a youth camp outside Moscow, enumerating military and economic plans for Russia's Arctic.
12.26 BREAKING McDonald's says a total of 12 Russian branches temporarily closed with more than 100 inspections underway.
12.20 According to the BBC's Gavin Hewitt via Twitter, "Angela Merkel's spokesman says clearly - Russia's actions 'add up to a military intervention'. 'This is a very serious and unjustifiable.'"
12.15 Russian forces are engaged in direct military operations inside Ukraine in a blatant violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.
"Despite Moscow's hollow denials, it is now clear that Russian troops and equipment have illegally crossed the border into eastern and south-eastern Ukraine," Rasmussen said.
"This is not an isolated action, but part of a dangerous pattern over many months to destabilise Ukraine as a sovereign nation," he added.
He said NATO would fully respect any decision by the Ukrainian parliament to abandon Ukraine's non-aligned status and set the country on a course to seek to become a member of US-led NATO.
Meanwhile, Paul Waugh said his sources tell him David Cameron intends to ask for sanction loopholes to be lifted.
12.09 Mr Putin also called the crisis a "tragedy" and said: "People who have their own views on history and the history of our country may argue with me, but it seems to me that the Russian and Ukrainian peoples are practically one people". He was speaking at a youth camp outside of Moscow.
11.58 More details from the Nato conference will shortly be made available. In the meantime, President Vladimir Putin insisted today Kiev must enter substantial talks with pro-Russian rebels amid a dramatic escalation of the fighting in Ukraine.
"It is necessary to make the Ukrainian authorities start substantial talks," he told youths at a pro-Kremlin summer camp in central Russia, AFP reports.
11.57 Mr Rasmussen described the current situation as a "grave crisis". His speech came after the emergency meeting with the 28 members of Nato discussing crisis.
11.56 Anders Fogh Rasmussen, secretary general of Nato, has said there will be concrete contributions to trust funds to assist Ukraine in reforming and modernising armed forces "with a view to make them stronger".
He added there could be further assistance put forward at the summut in Wales next week.
11.49 Earlier there was a map from yesterday showing the control of areas in eastern Ukraine and where the rebels are as well as the territory rebels hold.
Now Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council have produced one showing the situation updated since yesterday.
11.30 UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has said he is "gravely concerned by the deteriorating situation in Ukraine".
At a UN conference in Bali, he said talks hoping to resolve the current crisis had "quickly been overshadowed by alarming new reports of intensifying fighting".
"There is an urgent need to ensure a secure border between the two countries with international verification," he added.
He also said it was critical that early parliamentary elections scheduled for October 26 in Ukraine go ahead.
"We have to redouble our efforts to solve the conflict in Ukraine, lives are at stake, peace in Ukraine means peace in the region and beyond," he said.
11.23 This is a map by Dim Grits of new Russia on territory of Ukraine
11.14 Vox has done an explainer piece on the term Novorossiya used by Vladimir Putin last night.
Novorossiya literally means new Russia and according to the website, the term "was an old, imperial-era term for southern Ukraine, when it was part of the Russian Empire".
(H/T to Tom Parfitt for bringing this to the blog's attention)
11.04 Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the government is seeking to join Nato and is submitting a relevant bill to parliament to end it's official 'non-bloc' policy.
"The government is entering a bill to Verkhovna Rada (parliament) about the cancellation of Ukraine's non-bloc status and resumption of Ukraine's course for Nato membership, AFP reports.
10.34 Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that allegations Russia's military is fighting in eastern Ukraine are "conjecture", Reuters reports.
"We're hearing various conjectures, not for the first time, but not once have any facts been presented to us," he said at a news conference.
10.30 Police walk away as a protester lights a smoke bomb during a demonstration outside the Russian Consulate in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv yesterday.
Below, armed Ukrainian servicemen comb the area after being shot at by pro-Russian militants at their check-point near the small city of Dzerzhynsk, in the Donetsk region
10.28 Former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an opponent of President Vladimir Putin, said on Friday that Moscow is lying about its involvement in Ukraine and he urged Russians to take action to stop an "unequal" war.
"We could and we can stop what is happening. It would be enough to take to the streets, to go on strike," the former oil baron, who now lives in Switzerland, said in a statement to Reuters.
Moscow, accused of sending troops and weapons into the former Soviet republic to shore up a separatist insurgency, has not acknowledged any involvement. The Russian defence ministry has repeatedly denied the presence of its soldiers in Ukraine.
"We are fighting Ukraine - for real," he said.
10.21 Australia's prime minister did not mince words, today characterising the Ukraine crisis as a Russian “invasion” which was “utterly unacceptable", Flynn Murphy writes.
Russia was “stepping out of the shadows and overtly trying to achieve its objects of domination in Ukraine” with increasing aggression, Tony Abbott said.
"You cannot have an international order if might is right. You cannot have a safe and secure world if powerful countries are able to take what they want,” Mr Abbott added.
Speaking to reporters in Canberra, the prime minister again blamed Russia for the shooting down of MH17. “A Russian supplied weapon, Russian-backed rebels, Russian-controlled territory. Obviously, Russia has a very heavy share of responsibility,” he said.
Thirty-eight Australian citizens and residents were among 298 lives lost when MH17 was shot down in July.
A decision to ban Russian president Vladimir Putin from the G20 summit, to be held in Brisbane in November, could not be made unilaterally, Mr Abbott said. He committed to take the suggestion to other leaders.
Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop raised the question of sanctions, saying Russia had invaded Ukraine and breached international law.
“It’s not the first time Russia has done it,” Ms Bishop said. “In the past we imposed sanctions on Russia and we will certainly consider what actions we can take to send a very strong message to President Putin.”
"The Russians are up to their eyeballs in this latest violence,” said Australia’s federal opposition leader, Bill Shorten. “There is no doubt in my mind that the world as a whole is aghast at the actions of the Russian Government.”
10.17 Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council has kept an eye on fighting in eastern Ukraine daily and have published a map to show the regions affected. It shows the control of areas and where the rebels are as well as the territory rebels hold.
Meanwhile Business Insider have produced this fascinating gif of the maps to show the changes over the days as the conflict rages on.
10.09 Nato will reassure allies, Poland & Baltic states and offer Ukraine a bit of extra funding, The Telegraph's man in Brussels, Bruno Waterfield, writes.
There will be a new Polish base, a brigade on rotation, and a readiness plane, etc will be up and running by the end of 2015. In the meantime, there will be air reconnaissance and naval exercises over Poland & Baltic states.
Nato will not firmly commit to increase defence spending and we'll see Britain wriggling away from two per cent GDP target as well after next year, according to British defence sources.
A source said: "The best answer I can give is probably not because the language that the majority can accept is not all that strong.
"The allies who are at or higher than two per cent don't think they should be held to a higher standard than the others. We are going to see in the text quite a lot of 'aim to'."
"My message to those, who don't spend two per cent, who want us to commit has been, you are going to have to give us better language than you are so far. We haven't got that."
Nato is likely to focus on quality of spending, targets on spending (20 per cent) on equipment and using resources to meet Nato capability targets.
09.56 Several key figures in the DNR leadership are meant to be in Yalta (Crimea) for a conference on the crisis and wider implications for international relations and so on today and tomorrow, Roland Oliphant writes.
They will joined by several far right European politicians, many from parties who sent observers to the Crimean referendum in March. Delegates from Jobbik and the French National Front both expected.
09.55 Hundreds of protesters at the General Staff headquarters in the capital Kiev yesterday, demanding that reinforcements be sent to Ukrainian volunteers fighting in the east
09.52 According to Human Rights Watch, Russian-backed rebels are "arbitrarily detaining civilians and subjecting them to torture, degrading treatment, and forced labour".
The group says the rebels have also detained civilians to use them as hostages.
Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said: "Pro-Russian insurgents are regularly committing horrendous crimes.
“There are solid grounds to be seriously concerned about the safety and well-being of anyone held by insurgent forces in eastern Ukraine.”
09.45 Today as 12pm local time, 11am GMT, there will be an EU foreign ministers meeting. During the meeting in they will consider the EU's response to the crisis as there are increasing calls for further sanctions on Russia.
Associated Press said the EU ministers' discussion on Ukraine was expected to prepare possible further steps to be announced at a summit of the bloc's 28 leaders on Saturday in Brussels.
09.43 More from the UN. Ivan Simonovic, UN assistant secretary general for human rights, said: "The trend is clear and alarming. There is a significant increase in the death toll in the east.
"The current number of killed is 2,593 - close to 3,000 if we include the 298 victims of the MH17 (Malaysian airliner) plane crash," he added.
09.38 The ruble slumped to a record low against the US dollar on Friday, AFP reports as investors worried the West may tighten sanctions against Russia over its role in Ukraine.
The ruble slid to 37.0260 to the dollar, breaking its previous record low set in March when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine.
09.29 BREAKING: Conflict in eastern Ukraine has killed nearly 2,600 people, UN says.
The numbers come from UN's latest report, explaining the sharp increase by fighting in densely populated areas between Kiev's army and pro-Russian rebels, AFP reports.
"At least 2,593 people have been killed in Ukraine between mid-April and 27 August 2014," the report said, noting human rights violations like abductions and torture are "committed primarily by the armed groups" fighting the Ukrainian army.
09.25 President Obama ruled out any military options in Ukraine and proposed no shift in an American-led strategy that has yet to convince Moscow to halt operations against its far weaker neighbour last night.
In a speech the US president said the US will stand firm with its allies to address the conflict in Ukraine, where the US says Russia is backing pro-Russian separatists.
09.21 Russian officials have responded to a mocking tweet from Canadian delegates over the escalating Ukraine crisis, writes Mark Molloy.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been in the spotlight since Canadian officialsposted a snarky map to help Russian soldiers who keep “getting lost in Ukraine”.
Moscow officials have hit back with their own map, with the disputed Crimea region clearly marked as Russian territory.
Russia's response on Twitter Photo: @natomission_ru
09.19 Alexander Zakharchenko, leader of the main rebel entity in eastern Ukraine, told a Russian television station his forces were ready to let the encircled Ukrainian troops pull out.
He said though they would have to leave behind their heavy armoured vehicles and ammunition.
His comments came after Mr Putin's statement (see below) but the Ukrainian military released a statement today, Reuters reports, which said Mr Putin's call, the Kiev military said in a statement, testified to only one thing - "these people (the separatists) are led and controlled directly from the Kremlin".
09.15 Good morning and welcome to the Telegraph's live coverage of the crisis in Ukraine. The latest developments today are that pro-Moscow rebels fighting in Ukraine have said they would comply with a request from the Kremlin and open up a 'humanitarian corridor' to allow the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops they have encircled.
However the Ukrainian military said a call by Russian president Vladimir Putin for a 'humanitarian corridor' to be set up to allow Ukrainian troops to withdraw showed that the separatists were under the direct control of the Kremlin.
The developments come after Mr Putin's statement last night saying: "I call on the militia forces to open a humanitarian corridor for encircled Ukraine servicemen in order to avoid pointless victims, to allow them to leave the fighting area without impediment, join their families..., to provide urgent medical aid to those wounded as a result of the military operation."
Meanwhile US president Barack Obama said the US will stand firm with its allies to address the conflict in Ukraine, where the US says Russia is backing pro-Russian separatists.
But Mr Obama said a military confrontation between the US and Russia in the region, quote,"is not in the cards".
Read the whole story
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